Nepetalactone is an organic compound, first isolated from the plant catnip (Nepeta cataria), which acts as a cat attractant. Nepetalactone is bicyclic monoterpenoid, i.e., it is a ten-carbon compound derived from isoprene with two fused rings: a cyclopentane and a lactone. The structure and the effects of the compound are similar to those of valepotriates. A number of isomers of nepetalactone are known.
Nepetalactone was first reported in 1941 after it was isolated by steam distillation of catnip.
The compound is also present in the wood of tartarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), shavings of which are often used in cat toys.

However, it would seem plausible that if a cyclase similar to that of Rauwolfia
serpentina were responsible for the formation of the cyclopen- tanoid Nepetalactones in Nepeta spp., nepetalactol might be an intermediate. Analysis
of cell-free ...

Besides capturing male aphids, large numbers of parasitoids of the genus Praon
were recovered from water traps baited with Nepetalactone (1, Fig. 9.4). All the
wasps were female, and 98.5% were found in pheromone-baited traps, ...

This response is elicited by Nepetalactone, a cyclopentanoid monoterpene that
protects Nepeta spp. from phytophagous insects/ 1 Nepetalactone also repels
other types of insects, including mosquitoes. Petersen17" tested Aedes aegypti in
a ...